Rifts within the Italian government over the adoption of a painful 45.5 billion euro austerity package have deepened after a minister called a diminutive colleague "a dwarf".

Umberto Bossi, the head of the Northern League and the country's second most powerful politician, aimed the insult at Renato Brunetta, the minister for public administration, who is around 4ft 9in tall.

The outspoken and often controversial Mr Bossi, whose party is the key partner in Silvio Berlusconi's conservative coalition, was speaking out against pension cuts which have been outlined in the austerity drive.

He claimed that Mr Brunetta was under pressure from the Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank to implement drastic pension reforms.

Mr Bossi told a rally of cheering supporters at Ponte di Legno in northern Italy that he had told his colleague, who is from Venice, during a recent cabinet meeting: "Venetian dwarf, don't bust our balls," and urged him to safeguard pensioners' rights.

Mr Bossi was roundly condemned by politicians from all parties for the insult.

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"We cannot accept the language used by Bossi. A politician, especially a minister, should behave with civility, refraining from such obscene language, out of respect for his colleagues and all Italians – above all at a moment like this, when the whole country must be united and the eyes of the world are on us," said Mauro Libe, an MP with the opposition UDC party.

Anna Cinzia Bonfrisco, a member of Mr Berlusconi's PDL party, accused Mr Bossi of "incivility", while Massimo Donadi, an MP with the Italy of Values opposition party, said the leader of the Northern League had used vulgar and aggressive language that bordered on "fascist".

Mr Brunetta's attempts to reform the public sector and make Italian civil servants have made him one of the most popular ministers in the cabinet, while his height has earned him the nickname of the "mini-minister".

His private life has also been in the headlines – he recently married his much taller long-time girlfriend, 'Titti' Giovannoni, in a ceremony in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast.

But this is the second time in two months that he has been insulted by a senior colleague. In July Giulio Tremonti, the economy minister and the architect of the austerity budget, was overheard calling him "a cretin", in a gaffe which the Italian press dubbed "Cretin-gate".

The latest insult highlights the tensions in the coalition government, with the Northern League in particular angry over the scope of budget cuts and worried that they will hurt voters in its heartland in Italy's wealthy north.

Criticism has also come from within Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, with Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, calling the budget cuts "unacceptable".

Opposition MPs said the name-calling was symptomatic of a deeply divided government that could not agree on how to kick-start Italy's stagnant economy and prevent the country from sliding into a Greek-style economic catastrophe.

The austerity package, which will increase taxes and eliminate swathes of local government, was announced last Friday amid market panic and intense pressure from the ECB, which wants the pace of reform speeded up in return for buying Italian bonds after a sell-off sent Italian borrowing costs soaring.

"The latest outburst by Bossi against Brunetta are a good example," said Felice Belisario, from Italy of Values. "Hardly a day goes past without one minister insulting another. Our country is in need of greater gravity."

While the austerity cuts have been heavily criticised by unions and local government associations, reaction from ordinary Italians has so far been muted because most of the country is on holiday, in the traditional August exodus to the beach.

But the mercurial Mr Bossi seems intent on whipping up opposition to the austerity package, despite being part of the government that is behind it.

He claimed at the weekend that there was a plot by "international masonry" to undermine Italian banks so that they could be snapped up by French and German institutions.

The cuts, which were adopted by emergency decree, must now be approved by parliament within 60 days.